The SamplePad can be mounted onto a snare stand, meaning that live drummers could easily add it to their kit. However, with an estimated street price of $199, it might tempt a few home studio owners, too.

Expect to see the SamplePad in stores in the first quarter of 2012 - here's Alesis's official launch blurb.

SamplePad is the perfect addition to any drumset or percussion rig: it's compact, very easy to use, and allows drummers to load their own sounds. It has 25 percussion and electronic drum sounds built in, and allows drummers to load their own samples using a standard SD card to create stunning sound combinations. An external trigger input and the ability to mount it on virtually any snare stand or rack make SamplePad one of the easiest ways to expand any drumset.

SamplePad offers an intuitive interface that makes it easy to find and assign samples. By simply striking a pad and dialing to the desired sound, drummers can quickly reassign sounds as needed, and entire pad combinations can be saved internally as "kits" for easy recall. Drummers can tune and add reverb to their samples, then assign them to any of the four pads or the kick input. A MIDI output allows drummers to use SamplePad as a controller for triggering sound modules and software. SamplePad fits on a standard snare drum stand or can be mounted to any stand or rack (Alesis Module Mount sold separately). For studio use, SamplePad can simply be played on a tabletop.

SamplePad comes equipped with standard dual 1/4-inch outputs for amplification, and a headphone output for monitoring. Its kick input works with most pads and triggers including the Alesis DMPad and RealHead Kick Pads.

"The SamplePad is the first multi-pad instrument that gives drummers an easy, compact, affordable way to get virtually any sound into their setup," said Dan Radin, Alesis Product Manager. "You get the sounds you've always wanted, in a package that's smaller than a 12-inch tom!"

SamplePad will be available at musical instrument retailers in Q1 of 2012 with and estimated street price of $199.00.